Richards gives WC special weapon | [8/10/06]

Published 12:00 am Thursday, August 10, 2006

All-State kicker gives Vikings boost on special teams.

Being a kicker or punter is usually a thankless job.

If you do your job right, it’s what people expected. When things go wrong, you get all the blame, even though half the time a bad hold or snap caused the ball to go awry long before your foot ever met it.

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You practice just as hard at your craft as anyone else, in the same heat, with less guidance. And yet most of the time the position is mocked and laughed at.

Nobody laughs at Eric Richards.

After an all-state selection, dozens of booming punts and a handful of long field goals, Warren Central’s senior kicker and punter is beyond that. He’s appreciated by teammates and coaches for his skills and consistency, and relied on as the cornerstone of the Vikings’ special teams unit.

&#8220Eric put us in position to win games in the tight ones that we won last year. He was very good,” WC head coach Curtis Brewer said. &#8220You expect him to have a good kick. You expect him to consistently put the ball in the end zone on kickoffs.”

Over the years, Richards has slowly added to his kicking repertoire. As a peewee football player at Porters Chapel Academy, he once kicked a 35-yard field goal – in the sixth grade.

He transferred to Warren Central before starting high school and was ready to give up football. That was when WC assistant Bumper Brogdon followed up a tip and discovered the next in long line of great Viking kickers.

&#8220I was in PE in the eighth grade and Coach Brogdon came up to me and said, ‘I hear you can kick,’” Richards said. &#8220If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

Richards moved up to the varsity team in 2004 and immediately took over the punting duties. He averaged 35 yards per punt and upped the average to 36.9 yards in 2005, when he was selected to the Mississippi Association of Coaches Class 5A All-State team.

At the same time, Richards was dabbling in placekicking. He split time with Joey Bonelli the last two seasons, handling long field goals and a few kickoffs. He’s 4-for-8 on field goals in his career, with a long of 43 yards. In practice, he’s hit from as long as 67 yards.

This season, Richards’ kicking skills will get a true test. As the only experienced kicker or punter on the roster, he’ll handle both jobs. He said each one takes a different set of skills, and it’s tough to master both.

&#8220Punting is harder to master. Kicking is more natural ability. With punting, you have to work harder to make it spiral and turn over,” Richards said. &#8220It’s like the difference between throwing a football and running the football.”

And, usually, they have to figure out the difference on their own.

Most high school programs, Warren Central included, have a special teams coach but don’t have one assigned specifically to the kickers. That leaves most kickers to fend for themselves.

They practice alone while their teammates run through other drills, and often must find and correct the flaws in their technique themselves. It’s usually a tall order.

&#8220It’s frustrating when you’re not able to do it and you don’t have anybody telling you what you’re doing wrong,” Richards said. &#8220It’s kind of like a golf swing. It comes and it goes, unlike running backs who have natural ability and just use it.”

Sometimes, Brewer said, WC uses its older kickers to coach its younger ones. Richards, though, fell into a gap between classes. Bonelli was only a year ahead of him and the kicker before them, Will Clark, was gone before Richards started working with the varsity team.

Despite that, Brewer praised the job Richards has done.

&#8220He had a good leg, and he’s worked to put himself in the position he’s in,” Brewer said. &#8220Eric has been good about working out not just when it’s practice time, but he’ll be out here on his own. We’ve come up a couple of times on the weekend or something and he’s out there kicking.”